DESTIN, Fla. -- The NCAA isn't a fan of a certain type of creative hiring practice.

Because of recent legislation, universities that hire someone associated with a recruit as support staff are not allowed to recruit that hire's school for two years.

And more than a few coaches at the SEC spring meetings are less than thrilled about the new rule.

"Just about every team has a high school coach on their staff in some sort of capacity," said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, a former high school coach.

Malzahn and other coaches are unhappy with new recruiting legislation that clamp down on a hiring strategy that's often proved to be successful for college programs.

Take South Carolina sophomore quarterback Jake Bentley, for example.

Bobby Bentley, Jake's father and a successful high school coach in South Carolina, was hired by Auburn as an offensive analyst a few years before Jake's recruitment started to heat up. Two seasons later, South Carolina one-upped Auburn and hired Bobby Bentley as an assistant coach.

A few months later, Jake signed with South Carolina. After he enrolled one year early, the former four-star recruit earned the starting job and is positioned for a big 2017.

South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, Alabama coach Nick Saban and Mississippi's Hugh Freeze, another former high school coach, disliked the legislation. Freeze started his college coaching career as a support staffer at Mississippi in 2005.

"I tried every way in the world for somebody to hire me to be on the field [as an assistant coach], but that wasn't a realistic possibility," Freeze said.

There's a limited number of coaching staff members. The NCAA recently bumped up the number of assistants from nine to 10, something that will go into effect next year. But a school can hire an unlimited amount of analysts.

That's been something that's been up for debate this week, too. The size of support staffs has been a frequent topic of conversation inside meeting rooms and hallways of the Sandestin Hilton.

Adding a high school coach as an analyst or as an assistant coach has been pivotal for at least a couple of in-state schools.

New Baylor coach Matt Rhule hired David Wetzel as a support staffer shortly after he arrived in Waco. Wetzel, who was sitting president of the Texas High School Coaches Association when he left San Antonio Reagan, immediately gave the former Temple coach a guide to navigating an unfamiliar recruiting territory.

In 2015, then-Houston coach Tom Herman hired Spring Westfield's Corby Meekins as an assistant before top prospect Ed Oliver committed to the Cougars. Last year as a freshman, the defensive tackle was third in the country in tackles for loss.

Clearly, the method can be successful. While nobody probably wants to acknowledge it, it's surely a big reason coaches are upset with some of the new recruiting rules.

On Wednesday night, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey noted football coaches sometimes think selfishly when it comes to new legislation.

"Our coaches were honest," Sankey said. "They all look at it from their own perspective."

Recruiting is a fierce business with long-term implications that could result in games and millions of dollars won or lost. That's why coaches in Destin have been upset with NCAA legislation the last two years.

Corralling the evolving recruiting industry is paramount in 2017. It's clear SEC coaches aren't thrilled with the new rules, but they better get used to them.

And in a few years, don't be surprised if they've already found a new way to find that ever-important edge in recruiting.